Preston County Clerk announces plans to formally resign
KINGWOOD, W.Va. (WBOY) — During a Preston County Commission meeting on Wednesday morning, County Clerk Linda Huggins officially submitted her letter of resignation, citing family issues as the reason for doing so, according to officials.
'I do know that […] she has some stress, you know, lately in the job and everything, and there's been a lot of issues,' Preston County Commission President Don Smith said. 'I think she just had a lot of stuff going on in her family life, and she just needed a break.'
Smith told 12 News that according to Huggins, there may be other resignations this coming fiscal year in different sections within her office. He stated that Huggins requested for the Preston County Commission to bring in someone temporarily to overlap with another person that's leaving, to train this new person up until they officially resign.
Smith said the commission didn't have an issue with this, but there was a thorough discussion about it during Wednesday's meeting. Smith said that the purpose of this was to make sure that everyone understood what the timeline was, when it was going to happen and other necessary details revolving around it.
Huggins will officially resign from her position on Jun. 30, which Smith said is the close of the current fiscal year. The Preston County Commission will have 30 days to make an appointment at that time, per West Virginia Code 3-10-7.
Despite USDA cuts, Preston County Schools says school lunch program will continue
Smith said that since Huggins provided the commission with advance notice, they're able to now begin looking for potential candidates to fill the vacancy. The commission plans to meet next week to discuss its plans moving forward so that it can name someone almost immediately.
'Hopefully, it goes to where we do not have any gap,' Smith added. He stated that the Preston County Commission faced a similar issue last year, when the previous sheriff suddenly died.
'There's certain people you have to have to function as a county: one's a sheriff, one's the county clerk, and then the commission obviously,' said Smith. 'So those are people that have to be there.'
Smith stated that Huggins has done the Preston County Commission a service by providing it with so much notice, adding that while it will help a great deal, she will be missed.
'It's gonna leave a hole in the county,' Smith added. 'I mean, let's be realistic, she's been the clerk for quite some time now. She's done a lot with the election and everything, she helped when we were upgrading the election equipment and things like that, she brought that to us and we were able to get that.'
Smith told 12 News that Huggins was able to show the need for upgraded election equipment, which the commission was able to get funded through multiple sources. He also mentioned that Huggins played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Preston County Election Center, which he said worked out well, adding that things like that were very helpful regarding local elections.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Alberta premier says province working on proposal for new crude oil pipeline to Port of Prince Rupert
By Amanda Stephenson CALGARY (Reuters) - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on Wednesday the province is working to present Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with a proponent and route for a potential new crude pipeline from Alberta to the Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia. Smith told reporters at an energy conference in Calgary that her government is in talks with Canada's major pipeline companies in the hope that a private sector proponent will take the lead on Alberta's vision of a new, 1-million-barrel-per-day crude oil conduit to B.C.'s northwest coast. She said Alberta aims to gauge private companies' interest in coming together as a consortium to build the pipeline. "Or if one (company) emerges as being a principal proponent, then we'll be interested in talking to them too," Smith said. Canada currently sends approximately 90 per cent of its oil exports to the U.S., but has been seeking to diversify due to trade tensions and tariff threats from President Donald Trump. Alberta, Canada's main oil-producing province, is keen to see construction of a new export pipeline, to give Canada's oil industry the ability to boost production long-term. No private company has publicly expressed interest in building such a project. Smith said she hopes Carney, who won a minority government in April, will make good on his pledge to speed permitting times for major infrastructure projects. Companies will not commit to building a pipeline, Smith said, without confidence in the federal government's intent to bring about regulatory reform. Alberta is proposing that a new oil pipeline be built in tandem with the Pathways Alliance's carbon capture and storage project, which has been proposed by a consortium of oil sands companies to reduce emissions from Canada's energy sector. The companies have not been successful in negotiating an agreement with both levels of government over funding support for the project. Smith said the Pathways project, which could cost between $10 billion and $20 billion to build, would be more likely to be green-lit by oil companies if they had the assurance of revenue growth that a new crude export pipeline would bring. Canada is the world's fourth-largest oil producer. The country achieved record oil production last year as the opening of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in May 2024 tripled the country's oil export capacity off the B.C. west coast to 890,000 barrels per day. However, construction of that project was marred by regulatory delays and costs soaring to more than four times the pipeline's original budget. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Alberta premier says province is looking to entice private-sector pipeline builder
CALGARY - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is working to entice a private-sector player to build a crude pipeline to coastal waters. She urged attendees at the Global Energy Show to keep up the pressure on Ottawa to help speed along such a nation-building project. Smith has been enthusiastic about reviving a plan to ship oilsands crude to Prince Rupert on the northern B.C. coast for export to Asia. But she says that's never going to happen as long as there's a tanker ban in place on the West Coast. Smith is also keen on accessing global markets via a pipeline to the Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba, and praised Premier Wab Kinew for being open to that idea. Smith says the federal government must understand what's at stake and anything less than success means failing to stand up for Canada and democracy. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Alberta premier says province is looking to entice private-sector pipeline builder
CALGARY — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is working to entice a private-sector player to build a crude pipeline to coastal waters. She urged attendees at the Global Energy Show to keep up the pressure on Ottawa to help speed along such a nation-building project. Smith has been enthusiastic about reviving a plan to ship oilsands crude to Prince Rupert on the northern B.C. coast for export to Asia. But she says that's never going to happen as long as there's a tanker ban in place on the West Coast. Smith is also keen on accessing global markets via a pipeline to the Port of Churchill in northern Manitoba, and praised Premier Wab Kinew for being open to that idea. Smith says the federal government must understand what's at stake and anything less than success means failing to stand up for Canada and democracy. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025. Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
